Local and State Headlines for Wednesday, March 13, 2019

posted by Mark Starling -
Mar 13, 2019

Man Found Dead In Grocery Store Parking Lot ID'd

(Woodfin, NC) -- Police are identifying the man who died in the parking lot of an Ingles grocery store in Woodfin. Police say Adam Bennett Stockley, of Marshall, was found unresponsive inside a vehicle on Monday. Foul play is not suspected at this time.

New City Attorney In Asheville

(Asheville, NC) -- Asheville has a new city attorney. The Asheville City Council unanimously voted on Tuesday to hire Brad Branham, an assistant city attorney in Charlotte. Branham will begin the job on April 8th. Former Asheville City Attorney Robin Currin left last September during a turbulent time for the city which also included the firing of its city manager.

City Council Approves New Hotel

(Asheville, NC) -- A new hotel project is being approved in Asheville. The city council voted four-to-three in favor of approving the 103-room Extended Stay on Biltmore Avenue yesterday, according to a report from WLOS-TV. The proposal had been previously withdrawn last October prior to a vote to re-zone the property for lodging use.

Madison County Public Comment Policy Changes

(Marshall, NC) -- Madison County Government officials made a change to a public comment policy at a meeting on Tuesday. The county had said it planned to strictly enforce the previously-established rules of only allowing five speakers total during the comment period and only one person to voice an opinion for or against an issue. This came after dozens of speakers took hours to address commissioners at meetings in the last couple of months regarding a proposed asphalt plant in Marshall, mostly in opposition. WLOS-TV reports after protesters showed up to a meeting on Tuesday, commissioners made a temporary change to allow 20 people to speak.

Sheriff Working On Filling School Resource Officer Positions

(Hendersonville, NC) -- The Henderson County Sheriff's Office is getting closer to having a school resource officer in every school in the county. That's what Sheriff Lowell Griffin told the Henderson County School Board on Monday. Griffin, who took office in December, said the sheriff's office has struggled to find qualified applicants to fill the positions that were approved for county funding last year. Six positions remain open.

A Body Found Is Believed To Belong To A Missing Nash County Woman

(Edgecomb Co., NC) -- A body found in Edgecomb County is believed to be a missing woman. Yesterday, deputies say a state department of transportation worker found a decomposed body in the woods. Deputies say they think this may be 38-year-old Diana Keel, she was reported missing out of Nash County about a week ago. The body hasn't been positively identified yet, but foul play is suspected. Keel's husband Lynn is being questioned as a person of interest, but he's not under arrest.

A Wake Forest Volleyball Coach Has Been Caught Up In A Massive Admissions Scandal

(Wake Forest, NC) -- A Wake Forest College volleyball coach is facing charges in connection to an elaborate college admissions bribery scene. Yesterday, the school announced that head volleyball coach Bill Ferguson had been put on administrative leave. He and about 50 others were named by the Department of Justice for alleged involvement in a scheme where 33-parents paid 25-million-dollars overall to a college admission counselor to land their kids into top universities. That counselor is accused of bribing other school officials, administrators and coaches to fraudulently get students into schools. Randi Smart has been named as interim head coach while the school looks into the matter.

North Carolina Makes A Couple Appearances On The Top 100 Most Dangerous Cities List

(undated) -- A couple North Carolina cities are the most dangerous in the country. Alarms-dot-org recently released their list of the 100 most dangerous cities in the nation based on the violent crime rate. The City of Kinston in Lenoir County ranked 50th overall and the City of Henderson in Vance County both ranked higher on the list than Chicago for per-capita violent crime. South Carolina had four cities that made the list.

The Cary High School Band Director Has Been Suspended, No Word As To Why

(Cary, NC) -- A high school band director in Cary is suspended. The Principal of Cary High School, Nolan Bryant, says they suspended Matt Minick with pay earlier this month. Bryant says information that concerned the band community was brought to his attention, but he said the matter was so sensitive they couldn't go into detail. The principal says was able to say that this doesn't involve any allegations of a physical nature. Minick had been the school's band director for nearly two decades.

Charges Are Pending Against An NCSU Student Police Say Brought Guns On Campus

(Raleigh, NC) -- A North Carolina State University student is accused of bringing weapons to campus. Last week, police searched a student's car parked on campus based on a tip. They say there were gun accessories in plain sight and several guns were taken from the car. The student wasn't on campus at the time and charges are pending.

Confederate Statue Moved In North Carolina

(Winston-Salem, NC) -- A confederate statue in North Carolina is being moved after Winston-Salem officials declared it a "public nuisance." For more than a year, the city and the Daughters of the Confederacy have been in a legal battle over where to move the monument of an anonymous Confederate soldier. The monument has been vandalized several times and the mayor was concerned that the monument could lead to more violence or vandalism. It was declared a public nuisance so the city can move the statue without filing a legal notice. The statue will be moved to an alternative location until a site at Salem Cemetery is ready.

Greensboro Teen Dies After Shooting

(Greensboro, NC) -- The Greensboro high school student who was shot earlier this month has died. Sincere Darnell Davis was an 18-year-old senior at Page High School who was shot at the Pointe at Irving Park Apartments on March 2nd. He died on Tuesday at Moses Cone Hospital. Greensboro police are now investigating the incident as a homicide, this being the tenth homicide in the city this year.

Suspect Identified In Fatal High Point Shooting

(High Point, NC) -- Police are naming an alleged shooter responsible for one man's death and two women being injured in High Point. Terrence Sparks of High Point allegedly fired the shots on Sunday after a fight at a Greensboro gas station. The victim has been identified as Shawn Mitchell of Winston-Salem. Authorities say he was shot in the head.

Police Report Sexual Assault At UNC-Greensboro

(Greensboro, NC) -- Police are looking for three suspects in a sexual assault investigation at UNC-Greensboro. A female student reported the assault on campus yesterday morning. Campus police say the student reported she was in her residence hall overnight and that the men were with a mutual friend.

Wake Forest Volleyball Coach Charged In College Admissions Case

(Winston-Salem, NC) -- A Wake Forest University coach is being named in a national college admissions scandal. The U.S. Justice Department is charging nearly 50 people in a bribery scheme to allow the children of the rich and powerful get into top colleges. Bill Ferguson, the head volleyball coach at Wake Forest, is among those who has been charged. The university says he has been suspended.

Wake Forest Men's Hoops Team Out Of 2019 ACC Tourney

(Charlotte, NC) -- The Wake Forest men's basketball team won't be going to the NCAA Tournament after bowing out of the ACC Tournament on Tuesday. The Demon Deacons lost to Miami, 79-to-71 on the opening day of the tourney in Charlotte. The team finishes the season with a record of 11 wins and 20 losses, the same record achieved in two of the previous three years.